


Secrets: a Michael & Daniel FlashFic

by ObsessedtwibrarianOTB



Category: Original Work
Genre: Flash Fic, M/M, Male Slash, Treehouses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 06:51:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7256791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsessedtwibrarianOTB/pseuds/ObsessedtwibrarianOTB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael shows Daniel his abandoned childhood tree house.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets: a Michael & Daniel FlashFic

**Author's Note:**

> The writing prompt: Treehouse. Word limit: 1,000.
> 
> This is a small outtake of my original story, Silent Scream. It's an uncomfortable topic for some people to read, but it's a subject that is near and dear to my heart. My only nephew is gay, and I hate that he has to live in a world that treats him like he's unworthy just because of who he loves. 
> 
> (Michael Golland is played by Elia Cometti, an Italian runway model. Daniel Hart is played by Channing Tatum.)

“Damn. When you said you had a tree house, I never pictured _this.”_

“We’re snobby millionaires, Daniel. Over-the-top is what we do best.”

Daniel nodded in silent agreement as he swept his gaze over the spacious, but empty, interior. I doubted he was seeing the dusty hardwood flooring or the sheen of dirt covering the windows; he saw a completely different world than everyone else.

“It’s fallen into disrepair,” I said, pointing out the obvious. “It used to have a bed, bean bags, and art everywhere."

“Outgrew it?” he asked, his gaze touching every wall, corner, and rafter, absorbing the details as only an artist could.

“Never got the chance to outgrow it. It was a failed experiment. My mother was searching for something that would make me feel like a normal part of the world.” I swept my gaze over the room, remembering how excited and hopeful she’d been. “Didn’t work. My father saw to that. Every boy I asked to invite here, he found a reason to say no.”

Daniel turned to face me, his gaze hard and angry. “The man’s a complete cunt.”

I couldn’t hold back the smirk. “I thought you hated that word.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “Sorry. That was totally out of line. What’s up there?” he asked, changing the subject, pointing to the crude steps nailed to the side of the tree trunk that led to the roof.

“A small balcony. Follow me.” We climbed the ladder-like steps and awkwardly squeezed our adult bodies into a small room that had been built for kids, a place to hole up in and share secrets, while staring out the round window at the night sky.

“This is awesome,” Daniel said, grinning. “A little cramped, but it’s still amazing.”

We sat opposite each other, our backs against the wall, legs wherever we could fit them comfortably. I didn’t know what Daniel was thinking as his eyes settled on the view outside the window, but I was imagining a childhood with Daniel as my friend. I was certain my tree house experiment would have been a success with him in it.

“My mother told me that tree houses were magical,” I said softly. Daniel pulled his gaze from the window with interest. “She said they were sanctuaries, places where you could feel safe sharing your secrets with someone else. She said a tree house was like a lawyer: they’re sworn to protect your secrets forever. And she also said that a tree house without secrets gets depressed and its hair falls out.” I smiled, remembering. “She was talking about the leaves shedding, of course, but I really believed her, and I was determined that my tree house would be so full of secrets that it would never get sad.”

“Your mother was a beautiful soul,” Daniel said.

I nodded in silent agreement, suddenly feeling like she was with me in that tiny room, that she was smiling at the idea of her severely introverted son finally finding a friend. _Better late than never, right Mother?_ Perhaps it wasn’t too late to save this failed experiment.

“Tell me a secret, Daniel.”

His beautiful brown eyes darted briefly to mine and then they quickly found something more interesting, more _safe_ , to look at outside the window. I waited patiently, hoping he’d finally trust me to hold one of his secrets in my hand, the same way I’d trusted him to hold one of mine.

Finally he turned his attention back to me. “In the tenth grade, I had a crush on a girl.”

I raised my eyebrows; that was totally unexpected.

“I know, right?” he said with a mortified expression. “I don’t know what happened, but there I was, a boy a little light in his loafers, totally obsessed with the new girl. She changed the whole dynamic of our school that year. It was weird.”

I fought the laugh that was dying to burst out of me.

“I see you trying not to laugh,” he said, glaring. “But you don’t understand. It was traumatic, Michael. I was gay, and I couldn’t stop thinking about this chick. It was like she was one of those Sirens from mythology. She wasn’t even that pretty, but she was charismatic, you know? Everyone flocked around her like she was royalty or something. She totally messed with my head for a full year before she transferred out.”

“Maybe you’re only a little gay?” I suggested, trying to keep the smirking to a minimum.

He glared at me. “Fuck you.”

I smiled; I loved it when he said that to me. “Did you sleep with her?”

The nauseating look that crossed his face was comical. “Ewww, no,” he said. “When it comes to girls, I’ll have you know that my cock is still pristine white and virginal, and it’s going to stay that way. But when it comes to guys, it's a dirty little whore,” he said, winking.

 _Over-sharing much??_   When he saw my expression he chuckled.

“I’m joking, Michael.”

“Okay, so maybe you’re bi.”

He shook his head, his good humor gone. “Let me tell you something. In our society, if you put a man’s dick in your mouth, you’re 100% gay. It doesn’t matter if you fuck twenty girls in between. You’re still gay, and they tell you you’re going to burn in hell for it. That is our truth.”

He leaned back, his expression daring me to challenge him, but I had nothing. What he’d said was true as far as my father and the Catholic Church was concerned.

“I hope we haven’t traumatized my tree house,” I said, frowning.

He surprised me with a grin. “I think we just made it pretty happy, but it would be even happier if its _owner_ shared a secret of his own.”

“I’ve already told you one.”

“Tell me another one,” he said.

There were so many, I didn’t know which one to choose...

 


End file.
